Introduction

     Did you know that some people see the color red when they are looking at things that are green? That's what got me thinking about how people see color. Keep reading to find out more with me! Let's begin the journey!

What Are Wavelengths

     Light waves usually travel as one to make white light. Most people probably think it’s the opposite. When you see white light, you see all the wavelength colors. When you see black, you are actually seeing no color at all.

      Light has different wavelengths that form different colors. For example, red has a long wavelength and violet has a short wavelength.

How is Light Similar to Color

      When we see white light we see all the wavelengths of colors. But when we see black we see no color at all. When people look at objects, they are really seeing different colors bouncing or reflecting off objects. 

     For example, if you have a red shirt, the shirt is absorbing the light for the other colors, but it is reflecting the red light back to you, so the shirt looks red. 

     If you have a white shirt, all of the colors of light are reflected, so the shirt appears white. However if you have a black shirt, all of the colors of light are absorbed by the shirt. Since no light is being reflected, the shirt appears black.

The Primary Colors

      In science, red, blue, and green are the primary colors. This means you can mix together red, blue, and green light to make other colors. If you look closely at a color television screen or monitor, you will see that it is made up of little dots of red, blue, and green light to make all the different colors that appear.

     In art, the primary colors are red, blue, and yellow. This means you can not mix together colors in art to make red, blue, and yellow because they are primary colors. But you can mix together primary colors to make other colors. For example, mixing red paint and yellow paint will create orange paint.

    Artists invented the first pigments over 40,000 years, so color has even been found in prehistoric cave drawings!

How People See Colors Different

     When people look at objects, they really see different colors of light just bouncing off objects. For example, when you see a green leaf, the red and blue light is being absorbed by the leaf to give energy to the plant. Green is not being absorbed. The green light is reflected by the leaf so the leaf appears green.

How Do Cells Help

     The eyes and brain work together to change the light into colors. The cell sends signals to the brain that sense light. Humans use cones (cells in their eyes) to see colors. Without cones you do not see colors.

What Are Cones

      Cones are a part of the eye. They are tiny cells found in the back of the eye that are sensitive to light. It depends on the cones which color you see. The cones absorb the light. When you see white you absorb all of the colors.

How Do Color Blind People See Colors

       People with color blindness cannot see colors the same way we do. They may see red and green as the same color. Also, sometimes people who are color blind have trouble telling the difference between blues and yellows.

     Color blindness is caused by problems with chemicals in the cones of the eye, or if some cones are missing.

ConclusioN

    I hope you have enjoyed your journey learning about colors. You have discovered that light travels in waves, and when we see white light we see all the wavelengths of color as one. 

   You have also seen that red, blue, and green are the primary colors of light. You can mix together red, blue, and green light to make other colors, or you can take all the light away to make black.

    Color is an amazing thing which makes our world interesting and bright. Without color life would look very dull and boring. So brighten up your life with color and light!